Red, White and Kaboom in Lakeland tonight

LAKELAND, Fla. — The City of Lakeland’s Red, White and Kaboom Festival is set to kick off Wednesday night on Lake Mirror.

The event features a live band, more than a dozen food trucks as well as a 15-minute fireworks show at 9 p.m.

The festival has grown in popularity since the early 2000s when the city moved its annual fireworks show to Lake Mirror from the Detroit Tigers spring training facility at Joker Merchant Stadium.

That year, construction forced the relocation of the fireworks, which then attracted more popularity on Lake Mirror.

The festivities will start with a live concert featuring Gary Love and the Moonlighters. 

Kevin Cook is the director of Communications for the City of Lakeland and says arriving early will help you beat the 30,000 people expected for the show.

“The best advice I can give you is to arrive early,” Cook said. “Our parking garages are open so park in a parking garage. On street parking is going to be very difficult to find.”

The city will begin shutting down Main Street to through traffic at 5 p.m.